Phenomena (1985) (18)

Phenomena is set in Switzerland deep in the alpine forests of an isolated boarding school. A blade welding killer is terrorizing young tourist girls and Jennifer Connelly finds herself thrown into this dark setting where she discovers she has telepathic powers that allow here to communicate with insects.

This dark horror film is directed by the Italian Dario Argento, who had strong links with Sergio Leone, and wrote on the classic western Once Upon a Time in the West. His experiences as a writer seemed to be more profitable as he drifted away from directing shorting after making Phenomena.

The lighting in Phenomena is it's most obvious trait. Much of what we experience is at night and the over arching theme is one of darkness and mutilation. Symbolic whites puncture this black landscape and often it is Jennifer dressed in white in which this manifests. She is a beacon of light, innocent but yet gifted with what is deemed a ghastly gift once the resident girls find out.

The lead Jennifer is played by Jennifer Connelly who, which is often her acting style, has a detached mystical nature about her, a calm aura that seems otherworldly. She floats through many of the despicable scenes as if a glowing angle. She is vulnerable but yet her purity is invulnerable.

She is plunged into some perilous situations some initiated by those who would surely rather protect her than endanger her. Jennifer would appear to need some kind of protector but we some come to realise that luck and the insects are on her side.

There seems to be no back story for Jennifer's strange power of controlling insects, despite her love for them, which in itself is a little strange. Some kind of linear heritage would have give the storyline some strength. She does make friends with a Scientist, who lives near the boarding school, played by film veteran Donald Pleasence, but he seems underwhelmed by the role and his end is anticlimactic.

The film is often slow and yet strangely curious as we are exposed to a series of stylish shots that drag the viewer from a searching night visa to the sudden and sharply cut violence of the kill.  A strange rock sound track springs into the narrative whenever the action becomes intense, but it jars with the rest of the theme which is far more electronic and creepy.

After a series of fairly spooky but low impact scenes the end of the film is a surprisingly gruesome sequence of the most unexpected encounters where Jennifer manages to avoid any type of damage despite all help breaking loose. Even when she falls into a pit of liquidated body parts she emerges unscathed.

As far as climaxes go the film does grip and Jennifer Connelly is at times hypnotising. The editing is jarring though and lack of character development cannot be overlooked. There is something to be had here but much that slips from the memory.

54/100

You can pick up a copy of Phenomena here Phenomena [Dual Format DVD + Blu Ray] [Blu-ray] [1985]